e-Directions
April 2009
Please continue to use this method of communication to keep up with Extension Service-related policies and programs.
Due to the length of this e-Directions, it has been divided into sections. Click on the section you would like to read.
LSU AgCenter nutrition educator receives national USDA award
Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) Web site
6th Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling on Pesticide Applications
New Selected “For Sale” Printed Publications Policy Initiated
Major Crop Acreage
East Carroll and Acadia Parish Millages Renewed
2008 Louisiana Agriculture Summary
Solicitation for Stakeholder Input on the USDA Science Roadmap
Lafayette LMG Group Recognized at International Conference
SPESS Interim Director Chosen
Articles in Amber Waves – March 2009
LSU AgCenter nutrition educator receives national USDA award:
JoAnn Smith, an LSU AgCenter nutrition educator in Richland Parish, has been awarded a certificate of recognition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service for her contributions to the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). She was presented the award during a conference for LSU AgCenter nutrition educators. Smith was commended for many accomplishments, including a collaborative partnership with the Richland Parish School System.
Beginning in 2006, she began monthly nutrition education programs for all fifth-grade students at Delhi Middle School. Smith also began nutrition programs to physical education students at Delhi Elementary School this school year. Click here for full story.
Source: Mary Ann Van Osdell, mvanosdell@agcenter.lsu.edu
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Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) Web site:
The SRDC has just released a new addition to its Web site that addresses the economic challenges facing our nation and region. It is organized into five major topics:
(1) In the News (which highlights recent articles appearing in the media that have relevance to rural areas);
(2) About the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009;
(3) Grant opportunities that focus on the economic/financial crisis;
(4) Educational resources; and
5) Reports and statistics. .
Source: http://srdc.msstate.edu/
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6th Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling on Pesticide Applications:
Earlier this year, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a 2006 EPA rule which had exempted pesticides applied near or into waters of the United States from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits under the Clean Water Act (CWA) even if these pesticides were applied in accordance to the EPA-approved (FIFRA) label.
The 6th Circuit Court issued the following opinions along with this ruling:
1 Any spray nozzle used for pesticide application is now considered a “POINT SOURCE.”
2 Any chemical residual left beyond the effective life of a pesticide is now a “POLLUTANT.” All biological (Bt) pesticides are now also termed pollutants.
3 Pesticides which are applied to land, but eventually find their way into water are “REGULATED DISCHARGES.”
4 “Waters of the U.S.” is very broadly defined. In other words, any land drainage which flows into a ditch, which in turn flows into a navigable creek is considered “Waters of the U.S.”
In a nutshell, if this ruling stands, every business which applies any kind of chemical or fertilizer will be required to obtain an NPDES permit. These permits must be applied for 180 days in advance and must be opened up for a public hearing on each one. Pesticide applicators who don’t have the permit will be more subject to citizen lawsuits and can be fined up to $27,500/day if pollutants are found in waters flowing off their application site.
Make your growers and producers aware of this information as soon as possible.
Source: National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants, www.naicc.org
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New Selected “For Sale” Printed Publications Policy Initiated:
The LSU AgCenter - Cooperative Extension Service is entering a relatively new phase in the distribution of selected publications. Clientele continue to request printed copies of larger and more popular publications, and they have indicated a willingness to pay for hard copies that traditionally have been expensive to print and distribute. Even if printed copies of selected publications are made available for a cost, we will continue to offer online versions of the publication and educational material free of charge to the public.
This new policy will change the protocol for these publications in the following manner -- rather than receiving a number of copies of these publications to distribute to your local clientele, you will receive a display copy of each and order forms that will allow people to buy the publications and have those books delivered (or mailed) to them.
Some examples currently available are: Louisiana Home Vegetable Gardening, 2009 Disease, Insect and Weed Control Guides, Building Your High Performance Home-Gulf Region Homeowners Guide, and soon to be available the Louisiana Yards and Neighborhoods Guide to Environmental Landscaping.
All these can be viewed at http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/communications/publications/Publications+for+Sale/ so check it out today. Most parish offices should have display copies to sell using an order form.
Questions or comments can be directed to Penny Ringe, who is the publications coordinator in LSU AgCenter Communications. She can be reached at (225) 578-6598 or pringe@agcenter.lsu.edu.
Source: Bobby Fletcher Jr., bhfletcher@agcenter.lsu.edu
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Major Crop Acreage:
Listed below is a summary of the projected major crop acreage in Louisiana and the United States for 2009 from USDA’s Prospective Plantings report, which was recently released. The complete report can be found at the following USDA/NASS Web address: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/ProsPlan/ProsPlan-03-31-2009.pdf
|
|
Louisiana |
United States |
|
Crop |
2008 |
2009 |
% change |
2008 |
2009 |
% change |
|
Corn
Sorghum
Wheat
Rice
Soybeans
Cotton
Sweet Potatoes |
(1,000 acres)
520
120
400
470
1,050
300
15 |
(1,000 acres)
510
100
210
480
1,000
240
15 |
-2%
-17%
-47%
+2%
-5%
-20%
+0% |
(1,000 acres)
85,982
8,284
63,147
2,995
75,718
9,470
103 |
(1,000 acres)
84,986
6,960
58,638
3,183
76,024
8,811
102 |
-1%
-16%
-7%
+6%
+0%
-7%
-1% |
Source: Mike Salassi, msalassi@agcenter.lsu.edu
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East Carroll and Acadia Parish Millages Renewed:
On Saturday, April 4, East Carroll Parish voters renewed a parish-wide five-year, 2.66-mill property tax renewal for the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service program with a vote of Yes (436, 78%) to No (124, 22%). East Carroll Parish Chair Donna Lee was excited about the voters' overwhelming positive support. This reinforces the importance of high-quality local Extension programs being supported by our clientele. In addition, according to Acadia Parish Chair Barrett Courville, Acadia Parish voters renewed a parishwide 10-year millage to support the Louisiana Cooperative Extension program there.
Sources: Donna Lee, drlee@agcenter.lsu.edu, Barrett Courville, bcourville@agcenter.lsu.edu
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2008 Louisiana Agriculture Summary:
The 2008 Louisiana Summary of Agricultural and Natural Resources (Ag Summary) is now available on the LSU AgCenter Web site: click here
Source: John Westra, jwestra@agcenter.lsu.edu
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Solicitation for Stakeholder Input on the USDA Science Roadmap:
The Research, Education and Economics Office (REEO) of the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking stakeholder input on the preparation of a roadmap for agricultural research, education and extension at USDA. The announcement appeared in the Federal Register (74 FR 14767, April 1, 2009). The text of the REEO announcement about the proposed rule follows this memorandum. The deadline for submitting comments about the proposed rule is May 31, 2009. All questions about the announcement should be directed to the point of contact listed in the REEO solicitation.
SUMMARY: The Research, Education and Extension Office (REEO) of the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting written stakeholder input on the preparation of a roadmap for agricultural research, education and extension at USDA. The preparation of the Roadmap is mandated by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008. By this notice, the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics has been designated to act on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) in soliciting public comment from interested parties regarding the preparation of the Roadmap.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by REE-2009-0001, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. E-mail: Roadmap@osec.usda.gov. Include REE-2009-0001 in the subject line of the message. Fax: (202) 690-1677. Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to:
Michele Simmons
Research, Education, and Extension Office (REEO)
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mail Stop 0114
1400 Independence Avenue, SW.
Washington, DC 20250-0114
All comments received will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Source: Michele Simmons, (202) 720-1777 (phone), (202) 690-1677 (fax), or Roadmap@osec.usda.gov.
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Lafayette LMG Group Recognized at International Conference:
The Lafayette Parish Master Gardener Children's Garden recently received the 2009 International Master Gardener Search for Excellence Award for Youth. Glenda Balliviero, chairperson for the gardens, received the award at the convention recently held in Las Vegas, Nev. It consisted of a beautiful plaque and a check for $150 to the Master Gardener group. This was the first international award received by a Master Gardener group from Louisiana.
Stuart Gauthier, county agent for Lafayette Parish in 2008, submitted a paper which Glenda had prepared describing the project in detail, the methods of instruction used, the results of the program, significant learning and impacts upon the community, as well as a budget narrative.
Both Glenda and her husband, Norman, also a Master Gardener, developed the gardens and provide the tours and educational programs.
The garden is located on the grounds of the Ira Nelson Horticulture Center in Lafayette. It is actually a part of the demo gardens which is a cooperative outreach program of the LSU AgCenter and UL of Lafayette. More than 4,000 children have visited the gardens, and programs for more than 700 children have been presented within the schools.
Source: Glenda Balliviero
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SPESS Interim Director Chosen:
As all of you know, Dr. Freddie Martin has announced his retirement as SPESS director effective July 31, 2009. We thank Dr. Martin for his dedicated service to the School and the LSU AgCenter and we wish him well in this next chapter of his life. Under the current budgetary challenges facing the LSU AgCenter and the College of Agriculture, we have decided to select an Interim Director from the existing faculty. Dr. Don Labonte, Professor - Sweet Potato Breeding and Genetics, was appointed as interim director effective July 1, 2009. We feel confident that Dr. Labonte will do an outstanding job and work hand-in-hand with Dr. Martin over the next two months as this transition is implemented.
We also know that faculty support and assistance will be vital and important to a successful transition. We hope our budget challenges improve over the next year so we can move forward with a national search for a permanent director; however, until then, we want Dr. Labonte to proceed with the development and implementation of strategic initiatives and innovative goals that will move the School forward in teaching, research and extension. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Labonte for assuming this very important leadership position. The support of the faculty and staff is much appreciated.
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Articles in Amber Waves – March 2009:
AMBER WAVES, The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, has published several articles of interest in the March 2009 edition. The Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U. S. Department of Agriculture publishes AMBER WAVES five times per year.
When Nudging in the Lunch Line Might Be a Good Thing
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/March09/Features/LunchLine.htm
Consumers Willing to Pay a Premium for Organic Produce
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/March09/Findings/OrganicProduce.htm
Higher Food Prices Can Take a Bite Out of SNAP Benefits
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/March09/Findings/HigherFoodPrices.htm
Working Parents Outsource Children’s Meals
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/March09/Findings/OutsourceMeals.htm
Agriculture and Water Quality Trading: Exploring the Possibilities
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/March09/Findings/AgWaterQuality.htm
The Evolving Public Agricultural Research Portfolio
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/March09/Findings/ResearchPortfolio.htm
Federal Funding in Rural America Goes Far Beyond Agriculture
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/March09/Findings/RuralFederalFunding.htm
Eddie G. Gouge, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, egouge@aplu.org, www.aplu.org
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Please continue to visit the director’s Web site: click here
If you have any comments or suggestions to improve e-Directions or the director’s Web site, please contact me at pcoreil@agcenter.lsu.edu.